Oliver Wong

Oliver Wong

I was born in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia. A self taught artist, who started when I was young with water colors, stumbled upon batik, a manual wax-resist dyeing technique, a popular traditional art form in South East Asia where I came from. Paintings allowed me to let my imagination go wild. I tried oil pastels, soft pastels. In 2011, I tried acrylic on canvas and enjoy it. Now I use all media the latest being digital. And Just enjoy the movements, colors and the creations...

At 13, I painted almost every day. When I was 17, I had an art exhibition in school. My media was mainly Batik and I sold some paintings.
At 18 I had a gap year and stayed home to accompany my sister and my mum and painted a lot.
I went to New Zealand for 7 years. I painted and loved going to the National Art gallery which was near to Auckland University. Sometimes I would just sit there for hours looking at the paintings. I also went to the NZ National Library and flipped through paintings by all the great artists.

Painting has always been part of me. It helps me release my emotions and express myself. I retired in 2011 after 28 yrs working in the bank. Since retirement, I have been painting more. My paintings are mostly abstract with human figures and nature. My favorite paintings are the ones created subconsciously where the outcomes surprised even my own self. A lot of people asked me why I so often use woman as a subject. Since school days I had been using it. It just comes naturally. Maybe the answer is in the way I paint it.

Please comment freely, your encouragement and suggestions will help me to improve.
As a self taught artist, I sometimes wonder have I missed something for not going to an art school and do a degree. Thank you to all who have commented honestly.